FRISCO, TX — Dak Prescott has already made it clear that he wants to play his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, and now he’s taken another big step to make sure that promise isn’t a promise in vain.
Prescott has agreed to terms on a new four-year contract extension worth more than $240 million, according to multiple reports including NFL.com, with a historic $231 million guaranteed.
Prescott has agreed to terms on a new contract extension that will keep him as the Cowboys’ franchise quarterback well beyond the 2024 season, news that follows the arrival of mega-contracts for Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers and Tua Tagovailoa with the Miami Dolphins this summer.
Earlier this year, he made it clear that while money is a necessary part of the business, it’s not what gets him up in the morning, nor is it what drives him to excel — as a human being, a father or a player.
“I’ve never played the game for that,” he said Thursday. “I’ve played a game for the pure love that I have for the guys in that locker room. Yeah, this game has always brought me something that not a lot of things in life give me. That kind of peace, yeah. Just being there between the lines with people that you share a brotherhood with. Yeah, something that’s special about this game of football and we’re fortunate that that money comes with that, and I’m in the position that I’m in to be able to have these conversations.
Speaking from the first full-contact practice of Week 1, the three-time Pro Bowler again emphasized his desire to retire in Dallas and, more specifically, why the idea of winning a Super Bowl with the Cowboys, above any other team, motivates him.
“That’s what motivates me to be here, is just being able to be the quarterback to do it, and win it,” he said. “I don’t think winning it anywhere else is the same as winning it here.”
Now you will have several more opportunities to achieve that goal.
The 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year, just the fourth to win the award in Dallas joining Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Jason Witten. Prescott was set to enter another contract year starting in September. He was assigned the Cowboys’ franchise tag on two previous occasions, which basically equate to contract years, his latest non-tag-related variation being set to hit the current salary cap by more than $59 million in 2024.
In 2020, Prescott became the first quarterback in Cowboys history to receive a tag.
His second tag, in 2021, lasted one day, literally, before he signed a four-year contract extension worth a maximum of $160 million with $126 million guaranteed in March 2021.
Even with the bombshell news of a $255.4 million salary cap hit in place for 2024 (more than $30 million higher than last season and nearly $13 million more than expected), and the help it provided to the Cowboys, they were still over the cap at the time and as such needed the additional relief provided by Prescott’s extension.
“I feel like 24 hours can really change your life,” said All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, fresh off a new contract extension that came in late August. “Obviously, he’s done that for me and the whole process I went through, and this is Dak’s second time at the table, so I know he’s very familiar with this and how Jerry’s working. I have no doubt they’re going to get the job done, but again, he can’t win a game by himself.”
The two sides restructured the contract last spring to allow for some relief at that time, but this extension likely cements tens of millions of dollars in additional salary-cap savings and additional wiggle room.
With this move, the Cowboys not only guarantee they’ll avoid quarterback purgatory (e.g., Clint Stoerner, Stephen McGee, Quincy Carter, etc.), but they should also free up tens of millions of dollars in salary cap space for 2024 that can be fully rolled over to the 2025 calendar season — or rather, whatever portion remains unspent until then.
In his ninth year in the league, Prescott, a former fourth-round compensatory pick in 2016, has ascended to be one of the best: His 2023 season earned him not only a third Pro Bowl nod and his first All-Pro honor but also second place in NFL MVP voting, behind only Lamar Jackson.
Prescott finished the 2023 season with the third-most passing yards of his record-setting career (4,516) and his second-most touchdowns (36), all while throwing his fewest interceptions (9) in a full season since 2018, completing a 180-degree turnaround in that category after throwing a career-worst 15 interceptions a year ago.
Over his career in Dallas, he has thrown for a total of 29,459 yards and 202 touchdowns against 74 interceptions, and owns a 73-41 regular season record despite playing under two different head coaches, three different game coordinators, and four different quarterback coaches; and once again led the Cowboys’ offense to become the number one unit in production last season.
The one constant has been Prescott’s ability to adapt quickly and keep winning, even in the face of personal adversity that includes tragic losses within his family, along with a season-ending broken leg in 2020.
In 2024, he became a father for the first time when Margaret Jane (“Baby MJ”) was born, which really focused him like never before, by his own admission.
Prescott is trending in the right direction once again with McCarthy orchestrating the offense, the same coach who coordinated the offenses of both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, and the Cowboys head coach stated earlier this offseason that he and the Cowboys believe Prescott “is part of the solution.”
Every player in the locker room is celebrating Prescott’s job security.
“Yeah, it’s everything,” he said of the camaraderie in Dallas. “When you play this game, such a physical game, a team game with people you love and give to and vice versa, it makes showing up every day easier, but better. You’re excited.
“You want to come into this locker room, you want to push guys to be better, you want to get to know them and help them on and off the field in every way possible. You become more than just employees or coworkers, you become true brothers and family. And I’ve built some incredible relationships with teammates over these nine years. And yes, I’m fortunate.
“I’m lucky to have so many of those guys there.”
Needless to say, the expectation is that Prescott will do the same come next postseason, assuming the Cowboys earn their playoff berth like they did the previous three seasons, but that’s not something he’s planning on avoiding.
And he’ll have several more opportunities in his NFL career to attack him in a Cowboys uniform.
